Code of Ethics (Under Revision)
Responsibilities to Self
- The counsellor shall be aware of his/her areas of competence and offer services within his/her area of training and expertise.
- The counsellor shall refrain from undertaking any activity where his/her personal limitations are likely to result in professional services which may harm a student.
- The counsellor shall be aware of his/her limitations, personal biases and emotional needs and seek professional counselling where necessary.
- The counsellor shall be prepared to refer those cases beyond his/her area of training or specialty.
- It is the responsibility of the counsellor to be aware of existing public and private agencies, which may be used as other resources to further assist students.
- It is unethical for an individual to claim whether directly or by implication, professional qualifications that exceed those he/she actually attained.
- The counsellor is responsible for seeking professional mentorship, continual professional growth and development in the field of school counselling.
Responsibilities to the Profession
The counsellor shall:
- conduct him/herself in such a manner as to bring credit to him/herself and the profession;
- not guarantee easy solutions or favourable outcomes as a result of the counselling process;
- be aware that significant confidential information may be released to qualified professionals only with the consent of the student or parent of a minor child; and
- contribute to the development of the profession through the sharing of skills, ideas and expertise with colleagues.
Responsibilities to Colleagues
The counsellor shall:
- establish and maintain professional relationships through networking;
- treat colleagues with professional respect, courtesy and fairness;
- be aware of and adhere to their duties as outlined in the constitution of BSCA; and
- provide support and mentoring to novice professionals.
Responsibilities to Students
The counsellor shall:
- treat all students with fairness, respect, understanding and tact without prejudice to race, religion, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, disability or socioeconomic status of the parent/student;
- refrain from punitive action in the counselling process;
- owe his/her primary loyalty to the student;
- inform parents/guardians or appropriate authorities when the student’s condition indicates a clear and imminent danger to the student/trainee or others; this is to be done after careful deliberation and, where possible, after consultation with other counselling professionals;
- inform students of the purposes, goals, techniques and rules of procedure under which they may receive counselling at or before the time when the counselling relationship is entered; disclosure notice includes the limits of confidentiality such as the possible necessity for consulting with other professionals, privileged communication and legal or authoritative restraints; the meaning and limits of confidentiality are defined in developmentally appropriate terms to students;
- recognize that within Belizean society dual relationships will exist; counsellors will take all precautions to avoid situations that challenge ethical standards and will refer any situation for which he/she cannot remain objective; and
- shall maintain professional relationships with other school personnel so as not to jeopardize the integrity of the counsellor/student relationship.
Responsibilities to Other Professionals
The counsellor shall:
- with student’s consent, share information with other professionals and develop clear understandings to avoid confusion or conflict for referral purposes;
- promote awareness and adhere to appropriate guidelines regarding confidentiality;
- provide other professionals with accurate, objective and meaningful data; and
- treat other professionals with respect, courtesy and fairness.
Responsibilities to Parents/Guardians
The counsellor shall:
- work in every way possible with parents/guardians for the good of the minor student/trainee;
- respect the basic responsibility of parents for their minor children;
- seek to establish friendly and cooperative relationships with the home; and
- respect the confidentiality of parents/guardians.
Responsibilities to the School Community
The counsellor shall:
- utilize all available teachers and other staff members who may be of assistance in aiding a student;
- maintain the disciplinary, behavioural and emotional records of the student in a confidential file, not shared with other staff members or the cumulative file;
- define and promote the counselor’s role and function in meeting the needs of those served;
- notify appropriate officials of conditions that may limit or curtail their effectiveness in providing programs and services; and
- assist in developing curricular and environmental conditions, educational procedures and programs and systematic evaluation process.
Confidentiality
- Significant confidential information may be released to qualified professionals with the consent of the student or parent of a minor child.
- The student is not released from maintaining confidentiality because others have the same knowledge.
- Confidential information may be revealed to another counsellor in seeking assistance, if the student anonymity is maintained.
- Information is kept confidential unless disclosure is required to prevent clear and imminent danger to the student or others or when legal requirements demand that confidential information be revealed. Counsellors will consult with appropriate professionals when in doubt as to the validity of an exception.
Adapted from American School Counselor Association & Jamaican Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education